Contest escalates to billboards
House District 44 candidate Sabato DeVito is challenging incumbent David Russell with messages on billboards in Spring Hill.

New pool may come to county
The YMCA and the County Commission are considering plans for the pool-starved county.

Family food values [Times photo: Olie Stonerook] The Hernando Times asks readers to pick their favorite family-friendly restaurants, and the two top picks have all-you-can-eat food bars.

Seeking to improve fair, board will look for grants
The fairgrounds need a new auditorium, access to a sewer system and maintenance.

Planning raises tax questions
A long-term planning workshop brings the idea that growth may require a future tax increase.

Authorities find missing money in pillowcase
SPRING HILL -- Authorities say they have found the missing loot from a Spring Hill bank robbery that a 16-year-old boy is accused of committing. The money was found Thursday in the home of the already-arrested Deion Gracia, 16, of 4595 Essex Lane in Spring Hill. The money, thought to be stolen from Huntington Bank on July 12, was found stuffed in a black pillow case and tucked into a plumbing access behind a bathroom toilet, said Hernando County sheriff's spokeswoman Deanna Dammer. Authorities are not revealing how they knew where to look for the money other than saying it was through a "confidential investigative lead." How much money was found has not been determined, a news release said.

Dixie Majors pack more than bags for Texas trip
BROOKSVILLE -- The luggage was much more Spartan this time around.

Green Bay to cut ex-Bear star
A month ago, Tyrone Goodson was looking forward to another chance to show why he deserved to play wide receiver for the Green Bay Packers.

For a cool day off, try a day on the water
The area boasts a variety of ways to enjoy the Gulf of Mexico, including fishing boats, charter boats and a gambling cruise ship.

Laptop plan's future on hold until Tuesday
BROOKSVILLE -- The fate of a project to put laptop computers in the hands of sixth-graders at Fox Chapel and Parrott middle schools will remain up in the air until Tuesday night. A shorthanded School Board, with only three of its five board members present, could not reach a conclusion on the direction it will take with a $200,000 plan to introduce laptops to 180 middle school students. Board member John Druzbick, who was attending a family funeral, and Robert Wiggins, who was ill, missed the final discussion on the laptops before Tuesday night's deciding vote. Of the three remaining board members, Chairman Jim Malcolm opposes the program, Jerry Milby favors it and Sandra Nicholson is teetering on the fence. Malcolm said the money could be better spent this year on improving reading in the middle and high schools. Milby says the laptops will make school more relevant for students and that the reading initiative, though important, doesn't need more money. Nicholson said she is undecided but leaning toward supporting laptops.